DIY Chalk Painted Dresser Makeover

There seems to be one thing on my mind lately ... and one focus on the blog. House updates. I promise I'll get back to sharing other things soon, but for today, I wanted to share this SUPER EASY dresser makeover. 

When we bought the house last fall, we (mostly me) agreed that one of the spare bedrooms should be turned into a closet. As in, the entire room is used as a closet. It actually wasn't as hard of a sell as I thought it would be. Rich uses the closets downstairs in the master bedroom, so I am using an entire room as a closet upstairs. It's taking some time to pull together because I'm trying to do it all on a budget. 

So one of my first budget-friendly finds was this dresser  I found on a Facebook yard sale site for $40. I knew it would need some updates and new drawer pulls, but it was the perfect size and height for the space in the room. 

The dresser was painted in a light blue color had a bit of a glittery feel to it and that felt a bit adolescent to me. The easiest way to update the dresser was using chalk paint. I had never used chalk paint before but decided to try the Rustoleum's Chalk Paint because it was so cost friendly. I thought why not give it a try! 

If you look at the top two drawers, you will see that there are holes for two pull out handles. These handles were an awkward size and I decided I wanted to update the dresser anyway so I caulked the holes with nail hole filler. 

The nail hole filler applies in a pink color and then it dries white. Once it dried it's easy to sand down to be even with the drawer. You can't even tell there was ever even a hole! 

We moved the dresser out on the patio so I could lightly sand over the top and the sides. It's not required, but there were a few spots I wanted to make sure were even from the previous paint job. Once sanded, I wiped off any dust from sanding and it was time to start! 

I used the Rust-Oleum Chalked Ultra Matte Paint in Linen White. Once the paint was dried, I gave the dresser two coats with the Chalked Protective top coat in Matte Clear. 

Here's what the Linen White looks like when you open the can. It is in fact, white. 

 

The dresser and the drawers were given two coats of the Linen White Chalk Paint. Once dried, then two coats of the protective top coat. The top coat looks like watered down milk but goes on clear. It also dries clear but just provides a bit of shine to the painted dresser. 

And, ta-dah! 

I added new hardware, a larger lamp, and the closet room is now nicely pulling together! It's amazing how easy the Rust-Oleum Chalked Ultra Matte Paint was in transforming this once blue dresser to a bright, clean white. 

Find the Rust-Oleum Chalked Ultra Matte Paint here. 

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Before&After: Painted Dining Room

HOLY COW.

It's been TOO long, friends! Where have I been? Well... I've been SO busy at work, I've been SO busy volunteering, I traveled to D.C. and then I took off some time to work around the house.

Aka. Paint the ugly rooms.

So if you've been keeping up on this emotional house journey then you know that there were a lot of ugly painted rooms.

Whoever said cream was the new gray was seriously disturbed.

I'm still working on decorating, buying other furniture, and painting bookshelves, but here are just a few before & afters. You know what is expensive? Furniture. You know what is expensive? Paint. You know what else is expensive? Hiring other people to paint so I am doing it room by room myself (with the help of my sweet boyfriend who is in law school so he doesn't have a lot of time).

Here's the before:
(Notice the dark paint colors on the wall that I did not end up choosing)

And here is the AFTER: 

I painted these areas in Sherwin Williams Repose Gray. It's the same color as the living room but I had it lightened 50%! It made a huge difference in the room and really ties the two together. I'm still working on the rest of the dining area before I show a 'full' reveal. 

I also painted ALL of the trim in the living room and in the dining room/kitchen area. My right arm feels so strong now! 

Thoughts? Do you like the Repose Gray that's 50% lighter? 

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Living Room Paint Update

Over the holiday break, I was able to paint the office as well as the living room. Now it's time to show a little progress! It's not 'there' yet but it's getting somewhere! 

If you remember, I was having a really hard time deciding paint color for the living room. Then after a late night Pinterest binge I decided to go with my gut and I'm so glad I did because I am LOVING the color! 

Here are a few before photos... 

So when we first moved in this wall was a terrible tan. It also had a pretty ugly security system monitor right when you walked in. After removing it (because we went with a different system) we patched up the hole it left with a wall patch kit from a home improvement store. 

Here's a look at the house (clearly with Christmas decorations) 

As you can tell there is no overhead light so I have to be creative and move around lamps for the time being. 

Here are all the paint colors that we were deciding on. We ended up picking Sherwin Williams Repose Gray. 

After just one coat we were beginning to tell a MAJOR difference! 

We painted two coats just to make sure we covered all of the ugly tan. I also fund some light silvery/whiteish curtains from Home Goods. Right now I'm light on the art and photos on the wall but all in good time. 

I LOVE the Sherwin Williams Repose Gray. It's a lovely gray but it doesn't feel cold which I was really afraid of when we were painting it. It keeps the room feeling very open and much brighter than the tan. 

I still need: 

- Better lighting (COMING SOON!) 

- Art 

- Console Table 

- Corner Chairs 

- New Pillows 

- Other things I haven't even thought about 

But, I'm happy for now! 

House Blog Updates: 

- A House Tour

- Office Paint Update 

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Home Office Makeover Update

It's been a rough week ... not that work is rough, or life is rough, but geez, I am missing my daily nap after two weeks from being out on holiday break. 

Now that I am getting back into the swing of things at work, it's time to finish the home office. You would think on my time off AT HOME I'd work on finish putting together the home office but ... no. On my time off I actually didn't do anything productive at the new house. 

OK - time for the fun decorating stuff! 

For reference, here was the office BEFORE I started to do anything... As in, here is the office when we moved into the house.

The previous owners had used this split-pea color green room as their baby room. 

Woof. 

I couldn't take this color because it wasn't 1) pretty or 2) dramatic. 

So... insert the paint debate that I mentioned about here. After A LOT of staring at walls and researching paint colors, I went with Sherwin Williams Georgian Bay and lightened it 25%.  

The result... 

A BEAUTIFUL blue! I also painted the built-in shelves a much brighter and cleaner white. The previous color looked very yellow against the blue before I had painted it. 

Now, this might look productive, but I haven't pulled in any of the other furniture, decided how I want to position the desk or hung anything on the walls. 

Because I am stuck with another decision. 

Curtains.

Currently, I am in the great-white-curtain-debate. 

I did a very scientific survey on Snapchat where most people have said the off-white curtains with the texture as opposed to the very bright white curtains with shine. I haven't really made up my mind yet, but what do you think? 

Off white? ... Shiny white? 

Help me decide so I can get this room finished!

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Everything Turning Blonde, Blue and Gray

Hiiiiiiiiiii friends! December is the busiest time with work which means a lot less time for sharing and blogging. This week everything is turning gray... in terms of my walls. 

Do you know what the hardest decision in the world is? Picking a paint color! Currently, I have four Sherwin Williams paint colors and if I keep this up the walls are going to turn into a Dolly Parton song. 

The current color of the walls is so ugly it's hard to visualize it right now. I'm leaning towards Repose Gray because I think once it's not so close to Essential Gray it won't look so green and will lighten the space a bit. 

Here's an example of Sherwin Williams Repose Gray from Pinterest: 

How pretty is that? SO MUCH prettier than whatever ugly color you call the walls now. Blech. 

NOW FOR THE OFFICE! 

Before I turned the office into an office, the previous owners used it as a baby room. Well, since that's not where I am in life, I am painting the office room Sherwin Williams Georgian Bay. I might lighten it just a bit, but I LOVE this color on the wall. I can't wait to share some before & afters! 

Also, since it's about to get REALLY cold in Arkansas (and, yes, I understand our cold is not as cold as you Northerners, but I do not do well when it's too cold to move. I become a bear and hibernate). My boyfriend asked me what the plans were for the weekend and I said, "Well, it's going to be cold so I'll be inside." 

See everyone on the outside in about March. 

Oh, back to the photo, since it's about to become so cold this weekend I frantically planted about 50 bulbs in the front garden bed of the house. I do not think I planted them the ideal six inches, because ladies, size does matter. Six inches is a lot, and when you're outside digging holes to plant a bulb when it's 40 degrees outside and getting colder, you just kind of stick them in the ground and hope for a spring miracle.

Now, here are two things I am obsessed with lately: 

1. Philosophy When Hope is Not Enough Serum

I have been using this serum every other night for the past few weeks and my skin is so smooth and soft. The cold air and dry heat from the gas heater in the house made my skin so dry it was hurting. This stuff is AMAZING. 

2. Sweet Kale Salad

I found this kale salad kit at Sam's and LOVE it. Just throw it in a bowl, add the dressing, stick in the fridge for 30 minutes and then you have a delicious salad! If you can find it at your grocery store you must try it. 

Also, last weekend I became my winter blonde which is the same as my summer blonde, fall blonde and spring blonde. Because I love to be blonde. If you missed my blonde excitement it's because you're' not following me on Snapchat! Snapchat: MaeganClark 

This weekend I am going to *try* my best to start painting at least the office room. Then again I am behind on watching Fuller House on Netflix so we will see which one wins out! 

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